Alonso on the Chelsea star's injury: he will likely be out even beyond the international break

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso will be forced to rethink his attack when he takes his side to Anfield tonight to face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup round of 16.

The reason? A potentially lengthy spell on the sidelines for Brazilian striker Joao Pedro, as Alonso confirmed in his pre-match press conference.

Joao Pedro picked up the injury in training, having already missed last Saturday's 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham.

Alonso revealed the forward is unlikely to return before the end of November at the earliest.

The Spanish coach said: "He (Joao Pedro) is suffering from a thigh injury and will be out for several weeks. Let's wait and see how long his absence will be. We don't want to speculate about that, but he is not ready for the coming matches."

According to Alonso, Joao Pedro will "most likely" be out until after next month's international break. That rules him out of the Brazil squad once again, having already missed the last camp with a knee injury.

So how do Chelsea cope without the former Brighton man? Alonso raised eyebrows against Tottenham by fielding no recognised striker and overlooking Danny Welbeck, who is now pushing hard to start against Liverpool.

Tonight carries an emotional charge for Alonso. He lifted the Champions League with Liverpool as a player in 2005, and this will be his third visit to Anfield as an opposition boss, after defeats with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024 and Real Madrid last season.

Asked how he might react should Chelsea find the net, he said: "I will certainly celebrate with all respect, because my warm relationship with Liverpool was established when I was a player. But now, I am in a different role, I have to support my team and fight for it."